Swimming Lessons to be published by Fig Tree / Penguin

I’m so delighted and excited to be able to announce that Fig Tree (part of Penguin Books UK) has bought the UK and Commonwealth rights to my second book, Swimming Lessons.

It is the story of Ingrid Coleman who writes letters to her husband, Gil about the truth of their marriage, but decides not to send them. Instead she hides them within the thousands of books her husband has collected. After she writes her final letter, Ingrid disappears from an English beach. Twelve years later, her adult daughter, Flora comes home after Gil says he has spotted Ingrid through a bookshop window. Flora, who has existed in a limbo of hope and grief, imagination and fact, wants answers, but doesn’t realise that what she’s looking for is hidden in the books that surround her.

I’m not yet sure of the exact publication date, but it is likely to be early 2017.

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Congratulations – you must be thrilled.
And what a bold and wonderful notion – letters in literature (and real life!) are always moving and intriguing. The letter from Darcy to Elizabeth, the discarded love letter (also left in a book I think?) in One Day…
Looking forward to reading this already.

Sounds fascinating, Would you consider putting up a blog post about how you write. Is it the whole idea of a story that you have or is story writing an organic process where the story develops as you write.

I'm a writer and an artist. I have written four novels: Our Endless Numbered Days, Swimming Lessons, Bitter Orange, and Unsettled Ground (to be published in 2021). Click 'Books' in the top menu to find out more.